The biggest threat to South Africa’s poultry industry is “unfair trade practices from countries like Brazil, Ireland, Spain and Denmark which dump their product on South African shores”, industry organisation the South African Poultry Association broiler organisation GM Izaak Breitenbach says.
While South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) considers the imposition for five years of anti-dumping duties against these countries, provisional anti-dumping duties were in force from December 2021 to June 14.
These temporary duties have expired and have not so far been renewed, he notes.
As of June 12, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel, had 60 days to react to the Itac report citing material harm sustained by the local poultry industry owing to the unfair trade practices employed by these countries, Breitenbach says.
“With neither provisional nor permanent duties in place, the local poultry industry is at risk and the negative impacts can already be measured,” he posits.
“South Africa is currently open to predatory trade from other countries, and the progress that’s been made to achieve the objectives of the Poultry Sector Master Plan are under threat.
“Allowing dumping to continue undermines the pillars of the Poultry Sector Master Plan, and severely compromises and endangers South Africa’s poultry industry – a R56-billion strategic economic asset,” Breitenbach states.
He avers that, without these tariffs in place, there could be systematic dismantling of South Africa’s poultry industry.
“Dumping jeopardises the country’s food security and the lack of import tariffs to counter it can cost jobs which in turn will increase poverty and hunger,” he indicates.
Source article: Engineering News
